RAVAGE - Al Ravage

The heavy metal band, RAVAGE, began as the idea of two young brothers from Boston, Massachusetts. The two, whom fans would come to know as Al Ravage and Eli Joe, wished to form a band that could bring bombastic heavy metal back to prominence and crush the insipid alternate-grunge music craze of the mid-90’s. Though the barely-high school aged rockers had mighty ambitions when they played their first gig in 1996, they quickly learned that Rome was not built in a day, and RAVAGE had to endure endless line-up changes while honing their sound and forging their way through the local underground metal scene. Rough demos, bootlegs, and countless shows began to pay some dividends as the band gained a cult following. RAVAGE soon reached a level of international acclaim with the self-release of their 2003 Curse of Heaven EP. The EP sold out quickly and the band was signed to Germany’s Karthago Records to release their first full-length album in 2005. Monetary issues, further line-up problems and internal strife plagued the self-financed recording which was well received by some for its strong songs, but was often overlooked for its weak production value. Following the release, Al, Eli, and long-time guitarist Nick Izzo (who had joined the band in 2001), put together a new line-up with local bass basher Howie ’The Mosh Pig’ Snow, and drum smasher, GTB, who had been working with Eli on a side-project. The new line-up was invited to play at Germany’s Swordbrother’s festival in 2006 where the band put on a raucous display for thrilled fans who came from all over Europe. Upon their return home, the band began recording their second full-length album, The End of Tomorrow. The End of Tomorrow is only the beginning for RAVAGE, who are only in their mid-20’s, despite having played together for over 10 years! After the release of their album we had the chance to interview the band’s vocalist Al.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: What was the reason for such a delay for your first full length album since "Curse Of Heaven" EP of 2003 that was sold out quickly to 2009 and  "The End Of Tomorrow»?
\r\nAl Ravage: Well, we actually did release a full-length album in 2005 - "Spectral Rider" on Germany’s Karthago Records - it just wasn’t very well received because there wasn’t a great production value and there were a lot of issues with the band at that time. When everything you are doing is self-financed and you have no money, it just takes more time to get things done. It also doesn’t help when you are working with a producer who is very busy.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone.gr: Which were your most influential heavy thrash and power metal bands?
\r\nAl Ravage: As far as thrash bands, we are probably most influenced by Testament, early Metallica, early Overkill, Kreator etc - some of those bands would be considered ’speed metal’ but the lines were kind of blurred back then in a lot of instances. As far as power metal - Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Running Wild, Primal Fear have always been favorites.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: Do you believe that old school heavy metal is still alive or has any room for further development on the year 2009?
\r\nAl Ravage: I think it will always be alive as long as there are some young people somewhere who discover it and want to continue on with the melodic metal tradition. I think it will always continue to develop, but it is important that it maintain its identity as being melodic and powerful etc and keep the aspects of it that made it appealing to being with.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: in "The End Of Tomorrow" there is a Priest cover, "Nightcrawler", how would you like to comment on putting this cover in a full length album?
\r\nAl Ravage: It was a random decision. We had recorded a few covers and thought that song fit in with the original material well.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr:  From the beginning, 1996, your main purpose was to bring back heavy metal to the top. Thirteen years later, after all these difficult times for the band, do you believe that you’ll have to reconsider some of the band’s main goals?
\r\nAl Ravage: Sure, we are much more realistic about things than we were as kids. I don’t think we’ll ever be a huge band, I think we just want to have fun, play some good shows and release some quality material that hopefully will stand the test of time.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: Are you planning a tour outside US?
\r\nAl Ravage: We’d like to, but we have limited resources, so we’ll have to see what opportunities come our way. We’d definitely like to play in Europe and beyond as soon as possible, so we are open to offers from festivals, promoters and agents who would be interested in bringing us overseas.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: What is the main advantage of the band comparing to so many other that play old school heavy metal?
\r\nAl Ravage: I think we have a unique-sound vocally, and we mix a lot of styles within the traditional metal realm that a lot of bands don’t - we have very thrash and very power metal songs, and I think we just aim to write memorable songs.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: Most European bands adapted to US elements in order to attract greater audiences, you went the other way and partly adapted to European style of play. Why is that so?
\r\nAl Ravage: I think that the European style always just appealed to us more as fans so that is the kind of music we wanted to play, and we’ve never cared if anyone but us really liked it or not.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr: Do you believe that the departure of your ex-drummer  George ’GTB’ Bellofatto is going to cut off the bands process? As you say once again the band didn’t manage to maintain a stable line up.
\r\nAl Ravage: We were lucky to find a very talented young drummer, Pete Webber, and he has fit in really well with the band and brought the playing to a new level. So while losing a member is never easy, we have been fortunate to move from strength to strength and actually find an opportunity to improve our sound. We’ve already played more than 20 shows with Pete, so we are excited about the future.
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\r\nMetalzone.gr:  Greece is one of the fortresses of old school heavy metal in Europe, what do you have to say to the Greek fans of true heavy metal?
\r\nAl Ravage: We’ve always been grateful for the support we’ve received from the fans in Greece. We’d really like the opportunity to get over there and play some shows for the Greek metal maniacs as they have proven to be a potent force in metal.
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\r\nInterview: Chris WildChild Zarkadakis \r\n

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